Jo Steele - 9th December, 2009Over eight months, someone had gone around cutting the brake cables on nine cars – three Mercedes, a BMW, three Fords, a Nissan and an Austin – in three suburban streets.
Was it a neighbour with a grudge – or a reckless vandal? Detectives examined the damaged vehicles, studied CCTV footage and staked out the patch in West Wickham near Bromley, Kent.
But the breakthrough came when they went to Prof Stephen Harris, an expert in biological science in Bristol University, who identified the cuts and marks as being made by animals – probably foxes.
‘Foxes chew a wide range of objects – rubber and other balls, cables, garden hoses, shoes, gloves and pipes under houses when they can gain access through a broken airbrick,’ he said.
‘It appears they also occasionally develop a taste for brake fluids.’
Sgt George Blair, head of the West Wickham Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: ‘We were pleased to be able to find an innocent explanation for the cause of the damage.
‘I would like to thank Prof Stephen Harris for his expertise and invaluable help in clearing up this matter.
‘However, damage like this can be dangerous, so I continue to advise residents to safety check their brakes by applying them before moving off’.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/805489-mystery-car-brake-cutter-turns-out-to-be-suburban-fox
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